The movie begins with a suicide in 1990s Israel, where we meet three aging Mossad agents (Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds) revisiting their most famous mission. In flashback, we revisit 1960s East Berlin, where the team (now played by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas and Sam Worthington) is assigned to capture a Nazi doctor now working as a gynecologist. One of the most improbable Nazi-capture scenes in the history of the movies results, as Chastain’s Rachel subdues the gynecologist with her feet in stirrups and restrains his head with her knees.

The big plot twist makes little sense either, and the forlorn Worthington looks more and more lost in every role — like an anchorman from Springfield, Ill., who inexplicably wandered onto the big screen. Chastain, as she did in “Tree of Life,” continues to impress, though next time she might want to limit the crying scenes to six or so.